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It was a day like any other in the off-season. Lightning was woken up by his alarm clock at 6:37 am. like every morning. Sally next to him grumbled something because she wanted to sleep longer. Of course, Lightning wanted that too, but Doc would personally drag him out of bed if Lightning didn't show up for training on time.
At least that's what he always did when Lightning lived with Doc before Sally's and Lightning’s wedding.
Now he had the alarm clock and he was still seven minutes late for training every morning, which Doc wanted to start promptly at seven. Lightning called it his seven comfort minutes and Doc let him have them.
"Morning Honey," Lightning said as he had to get up from his bed in a hurry. He gave Sally a kiss and she smiled.
"Morning Snickers," she mumbled in her half-sleep and turned over to go back to sleep.
Lightning paused for a moment and looked in her direction. Sally's hair was disheveled from the night, but she was always beautiful. But that wasn't what had surprised Lightning.
"Did you just call me Snickers?"
But there was no answer, only Sally's steady, calm breathing could be heard. So Lightning sprinted off. His mornings were always very tight. He freshened up in the bathroom, then got dressed, and just before seven took something edible from the fridge for the way. Today he found a piece of pizza from the day before. It was cold but edible.
With the piece of pizza in his mouth, he put on his shoes and hopped around on one leg when it didn't work straight away. When he was done, he quickly took the pizza out of his mouth - holding it in his hand.
"Bye Sal," he called. "I'm leaving. See you later!"
He had to wait a moment for the answer.
"Bye Hubby Pie," she called back.
Aw, she calls me hubby. Lightning liked it because they hadn't been married for very long. Nevertheless, Lightning shook his head a little confused. She had never called him pie.
Not too bad though.
Satisfied, Lightning left the house, closed the door, and made his way to his headquarters.
Just before he came into Doc's field of vision, he finished chewing the last bite and swallowed. Finally, he continued walking and saw Doc from a distance.
"Hey Doc," Lightning said and smiled.
"Hey there son," Doc's reply came with a warm smile and Lightning's mentor ruffled his hair. Because Lightning didn't have time to make it anyway he didn't care. Doc knew that.
"You're late, sleepy-head," Doc said as he looked at his watch. "Almost quarter past."
"In my defense," Lightning replied and raised both hands. "You want me to eat before training. It takes a moment."
"And you're talking about something healthy, right?"
"Oh, yeah, totally. Bread with cheese, tomato, and olives,” Lightning said casually but he couldn’t fool Doc, who then raised his eyebrows.
“Are you talking about pizza by any chance?”
“Pizza for breakfast?” Lightning answered and scoffed, a bit too dramatic. “Me?”
“You would never, I know.” Doc squinted at him but let it slide.
Lightning sprinted quickly to the entrance to get his #95 but couldn’t help but smirk.
“I saw that grin of yours,” Doc called after him.
Damn it.
Training went well. After a few breaks, it was ten o’clock when they finished for the day. It was getting warmer outside, which was also the reason why Doc always had Lightning train in the morning.
They went to Flo’s to get a bite to eat.
Flo and Sally were the only ones there at the moment. Ramone also seemed to be doing something somewhere in the back.
Sally hugged Lightning and leaned her head on his chest. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around his girl.
"How's it going, Snugglebug?" Sally asked and Lightning looked at Doc to see if he had heard that too. Judging by his grin, he had. Of course, Lightning didn't mind nicknames, but Sally called him 99 percent Stickers.
This was unusual.
"Going great..., Sugar Lips," Lightning said as he thought of a name too. And oh, Sally seemed to like it a lot.
After a sweet kiss, they broke the hug so Lightning could have a proper breakfast.
They talked about the day's plans while they ate. Sally still had legal lawyer work to do at the office and Lightning and Doc wanted to do something at the car.
So they parted ways. But of course not without a goodbye kiss for Sally. "Bye, Pookie," Sally said with a grin and Lightning frowned.
"Bye, Sal," he said, and as he walked away he saw Sally exchanging glances with Flo and showing four fingers in delight.
Four what?
What are they doing with these nicknames?
Chuckling and shaking his head, he followed Doc outside.
As planned, it was a day like any other. Lightning had errands to run, mostly with Doc, and Sally had her stuff to do too. But every time they crossed paths, Lightning got a new nickname. Honeybun, Pumpkin Pie, and Cuddle Bear were all on the menu. Things got funny with Speed King and Racetrack Baron. Lightning didn't mind though. Actually, he found it quite funny and started to join in. Even though his names for Sally were more normal, like Sweetie and Sugar.
In the evening when Flo's was full and almost everyone from Radiator Springs was eating there in different booths, Lightning sat next to his girl - one arm around her. Doc sat opposite.
"I missed you," Sally said and leaned against him.
"Even though we've seen each other so often?"
"Not often enough."
"I agree."
"My Pit Stop Princess," Sally said and snuggled closer.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. First of all... what?..." Lightning said, blushed, and pushed her away a little so he could see her better. "And second... the heck?"
Doc chuckled and Flo grinned too.
"I appreciate your names but please... use something more masculine. I liked Speed King though."
And Sally couldn't take it anymore. She started laughing. It was always contagious and even though Lightning was so confused, he had to grin. “Is this something like 'how many silly nicknames can you fit in one day'?”
“He got you,” Flo called. “Game over for you.”
“Oh, come on,” Sally said between laughs. “I was good though.”
“What are you talking about?”
Game over? Lightning was so confused and everyone could probably see it in his face.
“I managed ten though. I won. You owe me,” Sally called to Flo.
“You really did, didn’t ya?” Flo answered with a smile as she came closer with her arms crossed in front of her chest.
“We had a bet,” Sally explained. “Flo said you’d understand what we were doing with a maximum of five silly names. And I did ten.” She raised one arm triumphantly, playfully mocking Lightning’s after-race pose.
“Oh you little…,” Lightning said with a grin and hugged his girl close.
That explains a lot.
"What is she owing you now?"
"I don't know yet. But I'll think of something."
Lightning shook his head. His girl always had funny ideas. She made him laugh so often, like today. Secretly, Lightning liked it except for the last name she came up with.
When it got late and Sally and Lightning were outside on their way home, they parted ways with Doc.
"Be there on time tomorrow and eat properly, Pit Stop Princess," Doc said with a grin and laughed as he set off.
"You're walking on thin ice, old man," Lightning called after him but joined his laughter with his own.